This study examined the effectiveness of an intervention program to enhance the self-confidence of kindergarten teachers who address radiation-related health concerns among parents following the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant accident in March 2011, wherein radiation anxiety among mothers with young children was high. Kindergarten teachers are expected to address the concerns of these parents

Participants from 2 private kindergartens in Fukushima City were assigned to either the intervention group (n = 10), which received an intervention program comprising lectures, group discussions, and presentations, or the control group (n = 16), which received only written materials used in the intervention program. Changes in the measured scores post-intervention were calculated, and the mean values were compared between both groups using the Student’s t-test.

The primary outcome was self-confidence, and the difference-in-differences approach was used to assess the effectiveness of the intervention program. The study found a more significant difference between pre- and post-intervention self-confidence in the intervention group compared to the control group (P < 0.01).

The intervention program effectively enhanced the self-confidence of kindergarten teachers in dealing with radiation-related health concerns of parents with young children.

The response of nurses in Japan to the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant accident was deemed inadequate. This study examined the issues in Japanese radiation nursing education.

Anonymous, self-administered postal questionnaires were sent to managers and teachers of 1053 basic nursing educational institutions in Japan.

Among the 342 institutions that completed the questionnaire, 218 (63.7%) had incorporated Radiological Nursing Education into their curriculum while 124 (36.3%) had not. Based on the time of their incorporation, they were divided into the pre-accident incorporation group and the post-accident incorporation groups. For 89 of 111 institutions (85.6%) in the former group, the main reason for the incorporation was radiotherapy care. For 11 of 26 institutions (42.3%) in the latter group, the incorporation was their response to the nuclear disaster.

Nursing education in Japan has been inadequate, and as such, nurses find it hard to respond to nuclear disasters. Examining the current nursing education system and building a new model based on the nuclear disaster experience are urgent issues.

It is crucial to determine the health status of returnees to former evacuation areas. We aimed to examine the long-term care (LTC) utilization rate among elderly returnees as the indicator of care needs.

This study used a resident registration database to collect information on LTC utilization rate among elderly returnees to former evacuation areas in Fukushima, Japan, following the 2011 Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant accident. LTC utilization rates were descriptively analyzed.

For all age groups, the LTC utilization rates were lower among returnees than evacuees. The LTC utilization rate among returnees in each age group (chi-square test results compared to evacuees) were as follows: 0.78% (P = 0.194) for those aged 65–69, 0.69% (P = 0.003) for those aged 70–74, 3.23% (P = 0.007) for those aged 75–79, 6.79% (P < 0.001) for those aged 80–84, 22.84% (P = 0.011) for those aged 85–89, and 44.09% (P = 0.089) for those aged 90 and over.

Elderly returnees had fewer LTC needs than elderly evacuees. Nevertheless, the proportion of aging people is high in evacuation area, meaning the number of elderly returnees would increase at an enormous rate. Therefore, LTC utilization rate would increase in the future.

This study aimed to compare the physical activity level and health-related quality of life (HRQOL) between older survivors residing in temporary housing after the Great East Japan Earthquake (GEJE; temporary housing group) and older individuals residing in their own homes (control group) and to clarify whether mobility function and muscle strength were correlated with physical activity among older temporary housing residents.

Subjects were recruited to the temporary housing group (n=64, 19 men and 45 women) or control group (n=64, 33 men and 31 women) according to their residence. Physical activity was assessed by the number of walking steps determined by using a triaxial accelerometer, mobility function by the Timed Up and Go test, muscle strength by the grasping power test, and HRQOL by the Medical Outcome Study 36-Item Short Form Survey v2.

In the temporary housing group, reduced physical activity and correlation between physical activity and mobility function in men, and muscle strength in both men and women, were observed. There was no significant difference in HRQOL between groups except for bodily pain in women.

Support for older evacuees should focus on maintaining their physical activity level as well as on HRQOL to avoid deterioration of health in these survivors. (Disaster Med Public Health Preparedness. 2017;11:701–710)